


Life is a Fairytale

by XflowercrownedsoldierX



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, M/M, Mythology - Freeform, Romance, fairytale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-27
Updated: 2014-04-27
Packaged: 2018-01-21 01:26:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1532582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XflowercrownedsoldierX/pseuds/XflowercrownedsoldierX
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren lost his parents at the ages of eight and ten, leaving him with his step mother and step sister. For the next eight years, he remained their maid and always dreamed of getting out and seeing the world. One day, his life is turned upside down when he finds his father alive, and meets the man who arrested him according to his step mother's orders. After being traded with his father as Levi's prisoner, what will Eren do when he begins to fall for the cold hearted man?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Life of the Stepmother's Maid

" _Eren_!"

The voice of his step mother yelled through one of the installed vents, the bell accompanying it ringing madly. Eren groaned, sitting up and scrubbing at his face lazily. The bell kept ringing, reminding Eren he was late, while the bell beside his step mother's rang timidly, almost afraid to wake the young man. The shrill voice of his step mother filled the room once again, Eren swinging his legs over the old, lumpy mattress as the bed's frame squeaked loudly.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he growled back, happy the woman couldn't hear him. He shivered as he slipped out of bed, changing into brown slacks that hit his ankles and an olive green drawstring shirt. He slipped on brown, worn out shoes as he trotted up the stairs to the main floor, combing his chocolate locks with his fingers to look more presentable. He crossed the tile floor to the back door, grabbing feed for the pigs, cows, horses, and other animals on his step mother's farm. The house and the farm once belonged to his father, when he was young. Life was great then, when his mother was alive and they were happy.

His mother died when he was eight, her health slowly deteriorating as she remained in bed most of his life. His father, a doctor, did as best as he could to try and save her. But, there was little to nothing he could do. Two years after her death, his father was deceived by a woman who seemed kind, gentle, and loving. She was beautiful, but manipulated the man, marrying him and moving her and her daughter in quickly. Eren hated his step mother from the start, but didn't mind the quiet and collected daughter, named Mikasa. Eren's father slowly grew ill as well, said to have the same disease as his mother, dying when Eren was ten. Eren didn't remember anything about his father's demise-his step mother saying he was in denial and blocked the whole thing out. He stayed as a servant in that family for the next eight years, Mikasa tagging along to help him with his chores and talk with him, while he barely ever saw or associated with his step mother. He always felt like a bird trapped in it's cage.

As the animals were fed, Eren placed the feed back in the store rooms and washed his hands. He then walked into the kitchen to get two trays, grabbing cups and bowls with their breakfast. He balanced the trays in his hands as he headed up the grand staircase, surveying the grand hall. The walls were crisp white, half of the wall made up of stones. The house was made this way due to his step mother's orders, the ceiling high and dangling an expensive chandelier. Eren first stopped in his step mother's room, delivering her food and getting his list of chores before heading to his room in the dungeon for the rest of the day. He then delivered Mikasa's breakfast with actual happiness in his voice, asking her about how she slept. The young woman had raven colored, shoulder-length black hair. She was Asian, and had dark brown eyes. Her skin was lighter than his dark tan, but still remained darker than Caucasian. She was tall, only a few inches shorter than him, and always wore the red scarf he have her around her neck. After delivering her breakfast, he then went about cleaning the house, Mikasa trying to help as he shooed her away, chuckling.

Once he was finished, he showered in his bathroom and redressed, but fastened a maroon colored cloak around his shoulders.

"Mikasa," he called, "I'm heading out to pick up a few things, I'll say hello to Armin for you!"

With a confirming yell from her, he stepped out of the house and walked down the dirt path, stopping at the village's mage-and bookworm-'s house to say hello and be read to for a short while.

                

* * *

 

"Hey, Armin?"

"What is it, Eren?" The blonde's hair bobbed, causing the man to pull it back into a loose ponytail, while his calculating blue eyes remained transfixed on the man in front of him.

"Is there any way you could teach me magic, any magic that could get me out of that house? Don't get me wrong, I love Mikasa, but I'm an adult now and I want to finally be free. I feel trapped, Armin."

Armin sighed, his shoulders slumping as he gazed sadly at his best friend, "Eren, you'll find a way out. Magic's just not that way."

"Can you at least tell me my future?"

"You know I'm not that skilled, Eren. I'm not a seer."

Eren sighed, standing as he gathered his cloak for the warming spring air, "all right. I'll stop pressing. If Mikasa looks for me, I'll be in the meadows."

Eren snatched the book from Armin, smiling as he skimmed the current myth about giants called titans that once ruled the land, "thanks for this! I'll return it once I'm through, promise!" He tucked the book under his arm and headed for the door.

Armin just laughed, waving goodbye as he reclined in his chair, "take care, Eren!" The mage then sighed once the door shut, "you're going to need it."

              

* * *

 

Eren's favorite place to be was in the meadows. He picked flowers for hours, weaving them into a colorful crown and placed it on his head. He made two others, one for each of his parents as he lay in the field reading the book of fairytales and titan myths as he let his mind wander.

Breaking off from his imagination, Eren heard a twig snap and looked around, spotting a cloaked man with his face hidden in the large hood.

Gasping with widened eyes, Eren grabbed the crowns and the book, backing up as he resembled a deer caught in headlights. The stranger's cloak was forest green, even in the sunlight now hitting the stranger's body. Eren noticed the shine of metal in their hand, and adrenaline started to course through his body.

He planned to run back towards town, but he realized how far off he was, instead deciding to run into the thick woods. As he grew tired and weary, he didn't notice the figure anymore, so he sat under the nearest tree, resting his tired legs.

A few moments later, the sound if a twig snapping caught his attention again, only he was too tired to run. The green cloaked man stalked closer, and Eren's back slammed into the back of the tree.

"What do you want?!" Eren snarled, baring his teeth.

"Those eyes would make take a hefty price," the voice huffed, chuckling evilly.

Said eyes widened, and Eren slipped into a fighting stance. As the stranger lunged for him, a large black shape slammed into him, a snarl ripping through the air.

The man went flying, and the blob turned out to be an animal-which was staring right at Eren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for reading, I hope you like it! This is my first work on here, and i hope it's enjoyable!


	2. The Strange Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren is taken to Levi's castle, meets a few of his servants, and learns about his father. Oh, and did I mention Levi's not a very warm person?

Eren gasped, frozen in place, having never seen this type of animal before. It looked like a large house cat, but had silver horns that curled like a ram's on the top of it's head, along with pearly white fangs as it bared it's teeth.

"Easy, there, big...whatever-you-are," Eren coaxed, somehow keeping the tremble out of his voice.

As the animal seemed to relax, Eren noticed the wound on it's side. He very slowly walked over to it, ripping off a piece from his pants to help with the bleeding. He lightly touched the animal's wound with the fabric and the animal cringed visibly, its nose crinkling in disgust as it growled lowly. Eren then stepped back, holding up his palm, the other hand curled around the bloodied strip of fabric. The animal then stood, stalking towards the young man as it examined him.

Eren stared at it, thinking that the ice blue that the animal's eyes were strange. And, similar to how if came, the animal left.

Eren ran back the way he came then, stopping when he reached the cemetery to put the crowns on his parents' graves. He then walked home, stopping and raising an eyebrow when he saw a tall, lean man with a dark blue cloak standing in front of his house. From what Eren could tell when the man moved, he was wearing glasses on his face. The figure then started towards him, slowly gaining speed until Eren recognized the stature of the man, which had him freezing in shock.

"D-dad? Dad?!" Eren yelled, tears pooling in his eyes and clouding his vision. He wrapped his arms around the man, feeling his father's arms encircle him.

"Shh, Eren, shh. He's looking for me, and she'll find-" he was cut off by a hacking cough, Eren becoming more worried about his father. "H-how, Dad? How? Are you okay?"

"I was sent away. You'll find out why, Eren. I'm fine. Just go, before-"

The sound of heavy hoofbeats resonated down the dirt road, along with the sound of a carriage rolling along with it.

"Run, Eren!" His father called, but he stubbornly stayed, standing in front of his father. The carriage skidded to a halt in front of Eren, four gunmetal colored horses hitched to the carriage, which itself was black. The coachman was dressed in black as well, not seeming bothered by the sun blasting down upon them.

The door swung open, and a black clad, knee-high boot was then seen, a black cloak covering a small figure. It was lined in grey fur, covering the petite man fully.

He was short, and his face was very pale, grey ram's-like horns sprouting from his raven hair. His bangs parted in the middle, falling in front of his eyes and onto his cheekbones. The man had a permanent scowl etched onto his face, ice blue eyes staring intimidatingly into the wide, sea green doe eyes. Eren gulped but stood his ground, shielding his father from view.

"Grisha Jaeger," the man's voice ground out, causing a shiver up Eren's spine, but not out of fear.

The voice was calm and collected, smooth and husky, and Eren found it intriguing. He wouldn't mind hearing it again, and he wondered what that voice sounded like when he was either surprised or intrigued.

Taking his mind-and wandering eyes-off of the man, he asked, "what do you want with my father?"

A thin eyebrow was raised by the shorter man, "you mean you don't know? He owes me his life, since he can't pay. He trespassed and stole, kid."

"I'm not a kid, sir. I'm a legal adult, and I'd be willing to take his place. Do you not see he's sick?" The man tsk'd, while Grisha grabbed Eren's arm and tried to convince him not to.

"Dad, get better. I'll be oka-" Eren was then dragged into the carriage, the door of it slamming shut and cutting off the last glance he'd get of his old town.

"What the hell?! I didn't get to say goodbye! Who the hell are you, anyway?!"

"Prince Levi of Shiganshina, shitty brat. Now sit your ass down, we're in for a long ride. I'm here for an unnecessary reason, and if it weren't for your stupid fucker of a father I wouldn't have to be awake right now."

Eren sighed, looking the shorter man fully for the first time. He studied the man's hooded eyes that held shadows, making his eyes stick out on the palest skin he'd ever seen. His skin was white as snow, standing out profusely with the black he was covered in, and his face held no blemishes. The prince ran a hand through his hair, sighing as he tucked a strand of it behind his ear. As his hand lifted his hair, Eren noticed that he had an undercut. His throat was thin, and wrapped around it was a crisp white cravat that the young man didn't notice before. It was neat and, like the rest of his clothes-even his cloak-didn't hold a single wrinkle.

"Like what you see, kid?" The prince ground out with a smirk, a dimple revealing itself on his right cheek. Eren's face burned and he looked down at his lap, pulling the maroon cape closer around himself. Eren didn't look up for the rest of the ride, instead falling asleep with his head back against the plush seat.

He awoke to a rough shaking of the shoulder, causing him to groan. He slowly sat up and opened his eyes, stretching his aching limbs as he ran his fingers through his knotty locks.

"Where are we?" He mumbled sleepily to Levi's back, which was stepping out of the carriage. Eren followed suit, as Levi said, "my castle. It's your new home now."

Eren looked up at the dark castle, black vines weaving into the massive gates. Gargoyles and monsters stood protectively beside the gates, and some were mounted on the castle's balconies. Eren followed the shorter man inside, and a group of people ran out to greet him.

"Prince Levi!" A woman, shorter than the prince, called, her strawberry blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders. Honey colored eyes sat wide on her heart-shaped face, a look of worry imminent in them. She examined him and took his cape, running her fingers over his one side, causing him to hiss in pain.

"Not again," she sighed as another woman came over to greet him. The woman had plum colored hair, pulled back in a ponytail with goggles on her forehead. The woman was holding a mouse and a candle, a clock hopping after them. _Wait_ , Eren thought, _a moving clock..?_

"Levi!" The woman chimed, wrapping him in a hug as the mouse climbed onto the prince's shoulder, curling up against the black leather collar of his jacket. The sword around his waist clattered loudly against it's sheath, and the prince roughly shoved the woman away.

"Shitty glasses," Levi growled, but took the glass bottle filled with a multi-colored liquid and gulped it down. The way he held the bottle was peculiar to Eren, holding it at the top with his fingertips instead of fisting the neck. Eren chuckled at the peculiar man, who just have him a menacing glare. The strawberry blonde woman checked his side once again, lifting the side of the leather jacket as Levi loosened the strings in the front.

"There's not as much blood. How'd you clean it?" Levi glanced at Eren, muttering a, "I'll tell you later" before shifting his attention to the mouse on his shoulder. "Erd," he grumbled, "I'm not your perch, go to Hanji or I'll push you off."

The mouse grumbled-literally grumbled-as it climbed off and onto the taller woman's shoulder.

As the group pushed farther into the castle grounds, their appearances started to change-all except Levi's. Petra was human, but was now a beautiful white dove, perched on a table, next to a candle. The woman with the ponytail now had grey wolf ears, her normal ones now disappeared. That clock Eren had seen walking had caught up with the group. He looked at it curiously, and then froze when he saw it stare back. The clock had soft brown eyes, and was taller than Eren thought. It was the size of a grandfather clock.

"Prince Levi," the clock called, causing the short raven to look over at the clock.

"Gunther," the prince addressed, nodding for him to speak.

"Castle's secure. No one followed, Jean's sure."

Levi nodded, then waved him off as he headed further into the castle as Eren took a look around, falling behind.

The castle was full of dark, cold, earthy colors. Most of it was black, grey, or blue, and the twin carpets running up the left and right stairwells were a navy blue-the lightest color in the house, besides Eren's cape. Statues of monsters filled the house, some laughing while others looked as if they were in mid-roar.

The prince stopped at the base of the left staircase, while Eren stared at the large columns that supported the castle, wondering how everything remained so immaculately clean.

Levi cleared his throat, causing Eren to look back at the man, "I do not know your name, kid. What is it?"

Slight irritation coursed through his veins, but Eren held the bored and intimidating stare, "My name's Eren."

"All right, Eren. You will live in the east chambers, along with Hanji," he gestured to the woman with the ponytail, "and a man you have not met named Erwin. The rest of the residents in this house are living down here, and Petra will serve you dinner. Welcome to your new home, and with that, good-fucking-night."

With that, he took the left staircase, going up two at a time. Eren heard him grumble the entire time he walked up and into the adjoining hall, staring after him until his grumbling couldn't be heard anymore.

"He's so dramatic," Hanji chuckled, smiling as she turned to Eren.

"So, Eren, it's really nice to meet you! You're so cute, did you know that?" The woman giggled and drew him into a bone-crushing hug, cutting off any air that was going to Eren's lungs.

"Can't...breathe," he rasped, the woman started to gasp and let go, resulting in wheezing and slight coughing from Eren.

"It-It's nice to meet you, Hanji," he said with a slight smile. "I'm glad you're here! If you have any questions about anything around here, just ask!"

Hanji then started to lead him up the stairs to the east wing, while Eren looked around at the dark castle, starting to shoot off questions. "Why do you live here, Hanji? And who's Erwin?"

"I'm a good friend of Levi's, as is Erwin. He's a guard here, and so am I, though I'm learning to be a Mage."

"W-why do you have ears?"

"Oh," she giggled as she pulled on one ear, the dark brown cloak she was wearing revealing her red jacket, a white cloth lined inside to protect her from it's leather, "these? I'm part wolf, actually! I was born with them!" Eren smiled at her, "what's it like to not fully be human?"

The woman beamed, "it's actually quite fun to be a wolf! I mean, if you meet the wrong pack it could be very dangerous, but it's mostly really fun!" As they ascended into the east hall, Eren worried his lip. _Should I ask her about Dad?_ He thought, looking out the large windows lining the hall. _Would she know?_

"Hey, Hanji," he asked, playing with the edge of his cloak, "do you know why my father was brought here?"

The woman's face saddened as she looked down at the floor, "A woman came to us one day. She claimed a man-your father-had stolen Levi's precious flower, and claimed she had proof. His mirror showed him that your father did have it, and the woman dragged him here by force. She told us that no matter what happens, don't let him out, that he was a horrible man as well as a crook."

Eren's eyebrows drew together, baring his teeth, "my step mother. She was the one, she set him up!"

Hanji sighed and ruffled his hair, "well, we got something good, finally. We have you."

They walked on in silence for a short while, before reaching the door to a room.

"Well, here we are, Eren!" Hanji chimed, opening the door and waving him in, "you can talk to Erwin later at dinner, if you'd like to meet him."

Eren laid his cloak on the end of the room's bed, "I'm really not hungry, Hanji. I'm sorry." "Eren, be careful. Levi may want you to come to dinner, and he can have trouble with his anger on days like this."

Eren sighed, sitting on the bed and falling onto his back, staring up at the dark blue ceiling, "all right, I'll come to dinner. On one condition."

"And that is?"

Eren took a look around the room, as dark blues greys colored the walls. There was a cherry wood dresser which most likely didn't have any clothes inside. The bed was bigger than any bed Eren had ever had, the dark red comforter and plush-surprisingly-white pillows, a small, decorative brown one in the middle, sewn red roses on it. As he surveyed the room once more, he mumbled, "get me some paint. Brighter paint. Please."

Hanji nodded and giggled, spinning around and heading out of the room. As she descended the stairs, she started to heartily laugh. "Levi's going to have fun living with this one!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Ahh, I wrote a second chapter! Anyway, this story will most likely be very slow, it depends on my planning. Thank you for reading my story! I hope you like it, this is my first story on this site!


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